Role of plant doctors in Cooperative Extension services

Cooperative Extension Services is an integral part of the Land Grant Universities in the United States and plays a critical role in the advancement of agriculture. The Plant Diagnostic Center at Louisiana State University Agricultural Center is an important part of the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Services. The mission of the Plant Diagnostic Center is to provide accurate and rapid diagnosis of plant health problems caused by biotic and abiotic agents and their management to the residents and extension personnel of the state. I graduated from University of Florida with the Doctor of Plant Medicine (DPM) degree in 2004 and joined the LSU AgCenter in 2007 as a full time diagnostician. Since then, I have been very successful in establishing a state-wide plant health diagnostics program. I was able to upgrade the existing Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic to Plant Diagnostic Center to accommodate the needs of our clients. This has only been possible due to the diverse knowledge of all aspects of plant health problems that I gained from the Doctor of Plant Medicine program. It is because of the DPM’s extensive multidisciplinary training that I am able to accurately and rapidly diagnose the plant health problems and help our clients and extension personnel.